Plot: What’s it about?
In Flesh and Lace, a woman named Beverly (Heather Hall) is about to learn a lot about herself, as she explores a side of herself she never knew existed. The way she behaves makes most people think she hates men, which would make sense, as she has been in numerous bad relationships with bad men. Her roommate Joan (Judy Young) has no such hatred, in fact she loves men and loves to have sex as often as possible. Her boyfriend Rook (John Aristedes) is not a good man, more like a street thug, but he satisfies her needs, so she keeps him around. One night, Rook decides to climb into Beverly’s bed, which sets off a sexual chain reaction. After that encounter, Bev realizes she is a nymphomaniac and as a result, she needs sex all the time. Joan catches the two in the act and beats Bev to a pulp, then tosses her into the street. She soon meets a new man who understands her condition, but when her path crosses once more with her old friends, will her new lifestyle be put in jeopardy? In Passion in Hot Hollows, an entire town erupts in sexual fever when a liberated couple return home. Jean is a conservative woman, but her sister Norma Sue is a total slut and her big dicked boyfriend loves to satisfy his woman. Can the small town handle all the passion, when the sexual tension is shattered into pieces?
Ah yes, a double dose of cinema as only Joseph Sarno could produce, given that special Something Weird treatment. Just when you think the label has run out of movies to release, we have this double feature of exploitation greatness. I mean, Sarno is one of the genre’s better known names, so I am surprised to see these flicks held up for so long. In any event, this is one of two Sarno double headers released in recent days by Something Weird, the other being Sin in the Suburbs and The Swap and How They Make It, another worthwhile release. But back to this disc, we have two movies loaded with sex, but one manages to have only sex involved, while the other actually attempts to have a plot and all that jazz. Flesh and Lace is the latter, a movie that pumps in ample naked bodies, but makes an effort to have some plot involved. The end result is passable, but Passion in Hot Hollows, which never stops sending out sex signals, proves to be more fun. I mean, if you watch movies like these, can there be too much sex? I respect the attempt to make a conventional film that happens to be drowned in sex, but Passion in Hot Hollows never masks its intentions, if anything it trumpets them. But both are solid genre efforts, as you’d expect from Sarno, so for fans of the genre, this double feature is well recommended.
Video: How does it look?
Both films are presented in full frame, as intended. These are low budget films from the ’60s and as such don’t look perfect, but they do look very good in these new transfers. I found some debris and marks on both prints from time to time, but nothing extreme or too distracting. I also detected minimal compression flaws, with some minor edge enhancement being the only culprit to be seen. The black & white transfers looks sharp and well detailed, with no real problems I could discern. The balance is dead on and I noticed no detail loss, even in the darkest of sequences. So given the material, not bad at all.
Audio: How does it sound?
Each film features a mono soundtrack, which means the dynamic presence is limited, but it seems to be enough for these flicks. I did notice some age related flaws, such as distortion and harshness, but given the nature of these films, I’m surprised they sound as clean as they do here. The music and sound effects are solid, but not all that memorable, which is all you can expect from a release like this one. No issues with dialogue aside from some slight flaws, but as I mentioned above, these problems don’t amount to much in the end. I doubt you’ll be impressed here by any means, but since the basics are handled well, I have no real complaints.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The main extra here is an audio commentary by Sarno and Miss Cleo Nova on Passion in Hot Hollows, in which the two discuss the productions. A lot of information on the shoots is revealed, most of which focuses on the stars and stories about them. I really enjoyed this session and of course, hope to see more from Sarno soon. This disc also includes two Sarno produced shorts, A Peeling We Go-Go and A Sneak Peek at Strip Poker, both fun to watch.
